DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2017/0203553 to Tsujikawa et al. in view of US 2012/0076556 to Komuro.
(claim 1) A sliding member (e.g., 137, Fig.5) having a sliding surface comprising:
a heat-resistant thermoplastic resin other than a fluororesin [0007, 0059]; and
resin particles (lubricating material) other than the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin [0007, 0064],
wherein
an average particle diameter of the resin particles is 0.1 μm or more and 10 μm or less [0008],
a surface roughness Rsk of the sliding surface is 1.0 or less [0007], and
a surface exposure rate of the resin particles on the sliding surface is 2% or more [0007];
(claim 2) wherein the average particle diameter of the resin particles is 0.5 μm or more and 4 μm or less [0008];
(claim 3) wherein the surface roughness Rsk of the sliding surface is 0.6 or less [0007, 0058];
(claim 4) wherein the surface exposure rate of the resin particles on the sliding surface is 3% or more [0007, 0058];
(claim 5) wherein the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin is at least one resin selected from the group consisting of a polyether ether ketone resin, a polyphenylene sulfide resin, a polyetherimide resin, and a polyphenylsulfone resin [0059];
(claim 6) wherein the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin is at least one resin selected from the group consisting of a polyether ether ketone resin and a polyphenylene sulfide resin [0059].
(claim 9) wherein a content of the resin particles is 1.0% by mass or more and 20.0% by mass or less with respect to the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin [0008];
(claim 10) wherein the content of the resin particles is 3% by mass or more and 25% by mass or less with respect to the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin [0008]; and
(claim 11) wherein the average particle diameter of the resin particles is 0.5 μm or more and 4 μm or less, the surface roughness Rsk of the sliding surface is 0.6 or less, and the surface exposure rate of the resin particles on the sliding surface is 3% or more [0007-0008].
Tsujikawa does not explicitly teach the resin particles (i.e., lubricating material) having a siloxane group.
Komuro discloses a low-friction sheet 68 including a surface layer 68A comprising a heat-resistant resin 681 which is a solid material and microcapsules 683 of a lubricant 682 dispersed in the heat-resistant resin and exposed to a surface when the surface layer is worn. The heat-resistant resin 681 is, for example, a polyimide resin, a polyamide resin, or a polyamide-imide resin. Examples of the lubricant 682 include liquid oils such as silicone oil and fluorine oil, synthetic lubricating oil grease prepared by mixing a solid substance and a liquid, and combinations of these [0067]. Examples of the material of the microcapsule 683 include resin compositions containing a heat-resistant thermoplastic resin and a thermosetting resin [0071].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to configure the sliding member of Tsujikawa such that the lubricating material comprises resin particles having a siloxane group, as an art recognized equivalent, performing a same function, in substantially the same way, and producing substantially the same results.
The combination above further renders obvious:
(claim 7) The sliding member according to claim 1, wherein the resin particles are thermosetting silicone resin particles (Komuro: [0067-0071]).
(claim 8) The sliding member according to claim 7, wherein the thermosetting silicone resin particles are modified thermosetting silicone resin particles (Komuro: [0069-0071, 0073]).
(claim 12) The sliding member according to claim 1, wherein the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin is at least one resin selected from the group consisting of a polyether ether ketone resin, a polyphenylene sulfide resin, a polyetherimide resin, and a polyphenylsulfone resin (Tsujikawa: [0059]), a content of the resin particles is 1.0% by mass or more and 20.0% by mass or less with respect to the heat-resistant thermoplastic resin (Tsujikawa: [0008]), and the resin particles are thermosetting silicone resin particles (Komuro: [0067-0071]).
(claims 13-17) A fixing device (e.g. 130, Fig.5) comprising: a first rotating body (131); a second rotating body (132) disposed in contact with the first rotating body; a pressing member (133) that is disposed in an inner peripheral surface of the second rotating body and presses the second rotating body against the first rotating body from the inner peripheral surface of the second rotating body; the sliding member (137) according to any of claims 1-5, interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the second rotating body and the pressing member; and a lubricant (from oil pad 138) interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the second rotating body and the sliding member [0082].
(claim 18) The fixing device according to claim 13, wherein the inner peripheral surface of the second rotating body is configured to include a resin having at least one group selected from the group consisting of an amide group, an imide group, a ketone group, and a sulfide group (Komuro: belt 62 base layer for heat resistance and durability [0060]).
(claim 19) The fixing device according to claim 13, wherein the lubricant includes an oil having a siloxane group as a main chain (e.g., silicone oil, Tsujikawa:[0082]).
(claim 20) An image forming apparatus comprising: an image holder; a latent image forming device that forms a latent image on a surface of the image holder, a development device that develops the latent image into a toner image using a developer, a transfer device that transfers the toner image developed in a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 13, fixing the toner image on the recording medium (electrophotographic apparatus, Tsujikawa:[0001]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARLENE HEREDIA whose telephone number is (571)272-8393. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss can be reached at (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Arlene Heredia Ocasio/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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